Isaiah gaped. “What the fuck, Keenan? How can you not see it?”
“Okay, one, I want to know everything. I might not exactly be your best friend, but I know you at least a bit and I know you’re happy here. Most of all, I know you’re as gay as they come, so I don’t see why you should marry a woman. Two, you shifters always think you should keep stuff to yourself, and I’ve had enough of it. Is stubbornness a shifter personality trait? Because let me tell you, you’re all like that. Jared didn’t talk to Chogan and didn’t want him to know, Joshua was a shit to Adrian before they finally talked, Bryce... well, let’s not even talk about him right now. You’re not the only one this is about. You’re John’s mate as much as he is yours, and he. Had. A. Right. To. Know.”
Isaiah opened his mouth to protest some more, but the door opened and he snapped it shut. Sebastian came in, followed by the guy Isaiah had seen on his screen.
“Hey, Isa. Dominic told me to bring Bradley here. He’s the new computer guy.”
Isaiah nodded. “Thanks.” He looked at his new colleague. The guy was shorter than him, with short brown hair and brown puppy eyes. “You can go. You too, Keenan.”
“But—”
“I don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t want to see you for a while.”
Keenan’s face set in an angry expression. “Do what you want. You know where to find me if and when you decide to stop being an asshole.” He left after Sebastian and slammed the door behind himself.
Isaiah and Bradley both winced.
“Don’t mind Keenan,” Isaiah told the other man. “He’s a bit of a drama queen, especially when he doesn’t get what he wants.”
“Okay. So... I’m Bradley, but you can call me Brad.”
“Isaiah. Dominic told you what I need you for?”
“Just that you needed help.”
“Okay, grab a chair and come here.”
It took a few hours for Isaiah to explain everything, but he was satisfied that Brad would have no problems taking his place once he was gone. The man knew his way around a computer.
And when had Isaiah decided to give in and go home?
“I’m taking a break. Will you be fine on your own?” he asked Brad. The man nodded, so Isaiah left him alone in the office and rushed toward the garden. Once outside, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, and of course that was the moment when John found him.
“God, universe, why don’t you fuck with me a bit more, huh?” Isaiah asked the sky.
“You know that talking to yourself is a symptom of madness?”
“I wish I was crazy. My life would be easier.”
“That sounds like Keenan talked to you.”
“Yeah.” Isaiah went to walk toward the door and back inside. He knew he was running away, but he had no intention of talking about the mate thing with John.
John stopped him with a hand on the arm. “Wait. You know we need to talk.”
“No. No, I don’t. We have nothing to talk about.”
“How about we talk about the fact that I’m your mate?”
“Really? And how do you know that? Because Keenan told you? The last time I checked Keenan was human, and even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be able to tell if you were my mate. The only one who can is me, and I have nothing to tell you.”
“But don’t you have only one mate? What happens if I am your mate and you push me away?”
“It doesn’t matter, since you’re not.”
John’s hold on Isaiah’s arm tightened. “I might be human, but I’m not stupid. What Keenan told me makes sense because I can feel it.”
“Looks like your year in a cell fucked up your senses then.”
John used his hold on Isaiah to turn him around until he faced him. Isaiah could have moved away without too many problems—he was a shifter, after all, and John was only human—but he didn’t.
“I’m not saying I’m... comfortable with knowing this. You know what I did before you guys caught me and locked me away. You know what I was told about shifters, and while I know you’re not like that, it doesn’t mean it’s easy for me to be around you. So if you really don’t want me, I’ll let you go.”
Isaiah closed his eyes. This was the moment he’d renounce his mate. Could he really do it? Could he decide between having a mate and helping his family?
* * * *
John waited for Isaiah to answer. He wasn’t even sure why he was actually giving the man the opportunity to reject him when he didn’t particularly like the mate thing. To be honest, it wasn’t that he didn’t like it, he just wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
He’d heard about soul mates, of course, but he’d always thought it was a ridiculous concept. No one could have a perfect match, or whatever mates were supposed to be. Who decided two people were perfect for each other anyway?
Still, John couldn’t deny Isaiah was cute, and since he had to stay with the pride for a while, John wouldn’t mind hooking up with him. If he could get over the shifter thing, and if Isaiah realized John wasn’t about to mate with him or whatever. Maybe he should have said that aloud, though.
Isaiah pulled his arm from John’s grasp. “I don’t know, okay?”
“How about a casual hook-up?”
Isaiah’s eyebrows climbed on his forehead. “Casual hook-up?”
“You know, just sex.”
Isaiah tilted his head to the side. “Are you sure you know what being mates implies for a shifter?”
“Yeah, but you said you needed to leave, and I’m going to be stuck here for a while. It’s obvious you have no intention of mating with me or anything like that since you’re leaving, and I’m not looking for a relationship. We could just... have sex until you leave.”
Isaiah narrowed his eyes. “Are you asking because you haven’t been with anyone but your right hand in a year?”
“It was my left hand, but yeah. Look, I’m not forcing you to do anything. Just say no and I’ll leave you alone.”
Isaiah looked at him. He stayed silent for so long that John was pretty sure the man’s answer was going to be a no. He was kind of disappointed, but he’d survive.
John nodded and made to turn around, but Isaiah caught his arm before he could. The man pulled, harder than John would have thought possible, and John stumbled forward. Isaiah caught him with ease, one hand grabbing John’s shoulder while the other went up and cupped his cheek. Then Isaiah’s lips were there, on John’s, and John honestly couldn’t remember if any other kiss had been that good.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t kissed anyone in more than a year, but Isaiah’s lips were incredible. Soft, plump, absolutely in contrast with the aggressive way the man kissed. At first it felt more like Isaiah was attacking John’s mouth, and John quickly tried to take control.
It wasn’t easy—Isaiah moved away every time John tried to take the upper hand, only to dive back in when John gave up. It went on like that until Isaiah gave John’s bottom lip a hard bite.
“Oww!”
John moved away and touched his lip with his fingertips. They came back dirty with blood. “What the fuck, man?”
Isaiah licked his lips. “Don’t worry, it’s not enough for us to mate.”
John suddenly remembered that yes, shifters mated by drinking their mate’s blood. “You sure?”
“Yeah. So, are you still up for that no-strings-attached sex thing?”
“Are you going to bite me every time?”
“Nope. It was an accident.”
“What, your teeth accidentally decided to taste my blood?”
Isaiah chuckled. “No, but you wouldn’t play nice. I had to do something.”
“Play nice?”
“It’s not because I’m shorter and slimmer that I’m going to submit or whatever.”
“We were kissing! Who even thought about submitting?”
Isaiah arched a brow. “You’re saying that you didn’t think about having
me under you? About how I would look on my back, legs spread for you?”
John couldn’t help himself—those exact images were now stuck in his brain, and he knew he’d do anything to be able to actually see them come true. “Not until now, but thanks for giving me the idea. Now I don’t think I’ll be able to jack off to anything else.”
“Want me to give you other ideas? Maybe me on my knees while I hold my ass cheeks op—”
“No, that’s fine. I have... enough for now.”
Isaiah smirked. “So when do you want to do it?”
“You’re serious.”
“Like death.”
“But isn’t the mate bond sacred for shifters?”
“It is only if I let it be.”
John hadn’t though Isaiah would say yes. He wasn’t prepared for it, but he also wasn’t about to say no to no-strings-attached sex. He was a hot-blooded male, after all. “When are you available?”
Isaiah narrowed his eyes and looked at him. “I’ll find you when I am. Okay with you?”
“My room’s—”
“Right next to mine.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup. I’ll see you later.”
Isaiah waved and left a stunned John in the garden. So it was Isaiah who stopped on the other side his room’s door regularly. It kind of surprised John, especially after the conversation they’d just had. Isaiah made it sound like he couldn’t care less about the fact that John was his mate, but John wasn’t sure it was the truth, and not only because he knew mates were sacred for shifters.
It didn’t surprise him that some didn’t care much about their mates, but why would Isaiah have avoided him for a week if he didn’t? Why would he stop by John’s door almost every night? And why would he agree to the fling with John when he could have any other man living there if he wanted to? There were something like twenty enforcers around most days—it couldn’t be hard for Isaiah to find someone to have fun with.
But even if Isaiah did care about John being his mate, did it change anything? He was still leaving, or at least that was what he’d said. And John still wasn’t all that sure he could be with a shifter. He’d told Isaiah he was fine with it, but he didn’t really know if he actually could have sex with a man who turned into an animal, let alone have a relationship with him. Mating was something John really didn’t want to think about for now—or maybe ever.
He shook his head and went back inside. Isaiah was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn’t surprising.
John could have done without Keenan trying to dig a hole in his forehead just with his stare from where he was sitting at the kitchen counter, though. “Don’t you have something to do?”
Keenan took a sip of whatever was in the mug he was holding and smiled. “Yes.”
“Then why are you here? Are you following me?”
Keenan snorted. “As if.”
“Really? Then why are you here?”
“Coffee. I need it before finding Dominic. I’ve been away for a week, God knows what I’m going to find in my office.”
“Didn’t you have someone take your place while you were gone?”
“I tried, but if I remember correctly, Dominic growled at that and said I didn’t have a PA before you, I’m sure I can manage for a week,” Keenan said with a deeper voice as he puffed his chest out, imitating Dominic. John didn’t know whether to laugh or just wonder if the man was crazy.
“That was before he called me barely two hours into the trip to ask me where his planner was,” Keenan continued. “I had to explain everything was on the computer, and he wasn’t happy about that. He swears the computer hates him.”
“That’s...”
“Yeah, exactly. I mean, what reason would the computer have to hate him, right? Of course, there was that one time when he actually kicked the thing because it wasn’t working, or so he thought. Then we found out Dominic just wasn’t able to use technology and that the computer worked, at least before it got kicked. After he did that, we had to buy a new one. Shifters don’t always realize they’re stronger than humans and shouldn’t go around kicking things.”
John stared at Keenan, wondering if the man was serious, and decided that yes, he was. That led him to wonder if he’d actually survive the year Dominic had asked him to spend with the enforcers. He wasn’t sure he would, not with people like Keenan and Isaiah around.
Chapter Three
Isaiah still hadn’t slept with John, even though a week had passed since their conversation in the garden.
He wasn’t stupid—he knew his fox wouldn’t let him have sex without feelings with his mate. Hell, his fox was already gone on John, whimpering in Isaiah’s mind every time their paths crossed and John looked at him with a raised eyebrow, as if asking so, when are we doing it?
They didn’t spend time together, but it seemed they always ended up sitting next to each other at meals and seeing each other in the hallways. Isaiah wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to actually stay away. Not only his fox wanted to mate right now, but Isaiah’s cock seemed to be okay with that program, too. The fact that Isaiah genuinely liked John also didn’t help.
They still hadn’t slept together, but it didn’t mean they hadn’t talked. Besides, Isaiah had been the one to do the background research on John when he’d kidnapped Jamie. He knew about the orphanage, about how John made a monthly donation to it, about how he’d helped the lady in charge with her hospital bills. He even knew about the relationship John had been in while working as a mercenary for the company.
The fact that his mate had been with one of the guys he’d worked with and that it had been serious enough that they’d asked to be assigned to different teams bugged him, even though he tried to convince himself it didn’t. It also made him wonder if John had actually broken up with the guy or if they were technically still together. Would that mean John would cheat on the guy with Isaiah?
“Umm, Isa?”
Isaiah snapped his head toward Brad. The guy was looking at him with concern. “Yeah?”
“Your phone’s ringing.”
Isaiah smiled his thanks to his new colleague and snagged the cell phone from his desk. It was his mother, of course. Isaiah got up and went to the door. “I’ll be right back.”
He closed the door behind himself, leaned against the wall and answered. “Hey, Mom.”
“Isa.”
“How are things going?”
“Fine, actually. I’m not sure what you did, but the wolves have been leaving us alone in the past few weeks.”
Isaiah frowned. “I haven’t done anything.” It wasn’t exactly true. He’d talked to Dominic and the alpha had told him he’d send some enforcers to check on things. He just hadn’t thought it’d be enough to solve the problem.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”
“I... yeah. But I haven’t decided yet.”
“We don’t have much time.”
“I know, mom. I just don’t think me becoming the skulk’s alpha will change anything. The guys giving you problems are wolves, it’s not like we can do anything against them.”
“Not physically, but you know a male alpha always has more power in the eyes of shifters and is looked at better. I don’t know if it would be enough for them to back off, but that coupled with the fact that you personally know the council members and have lived with Alpha Nash...”
“Do they even care about the council?”
They should have, but it didn’t mean they did. Dominic had had a very good idea when he’d created the council, but just like humans, if not even more so, shifters tended to stick with what they knew. They were used to not having to answer to anyone but their alpha, to taking care of their own justice. A lot of them didn’t see any problems in getting rid of a group of smaller shifters to take their territory, and knowing about the council wouldn’t stop them. In fact, it might make them even more eager to do it, just to show they didn’t answ
er to anyone, least of all a council they never wanted.
“I don’t know, Isa.”
“Mom...” he wanted to say he couldn’t do it. He wanted to say no, to stay in Whitedell. “What if we found another alpha? A man.”
“Isa, you should be the one to succeed to your father.”
“But I don’t want to! I never wanted to be an alpha!” The words were out before Isaiah could stop them. He closed his eyes and waited for his mother’s answer, knowing he probably wouldn’t like it.
“I know, sweetheart, but you have no choice.”
What could Isaiah say to that? He knew his mother loved him, but he also knew she believed in tradition and that she wouldn’t back down on this.
“I can’t do this for much longer, and your sisters are still too young.”
“I’m too young too, mom.”
“You are, but you’re an adult. They’re not.”
“Mom, Talia is thirty.”
“That’s too young, and you know it.”
“She’s an adult.”
“Isa, are you saying you won’t be coming back?” his mother asked in a steely tone.
“I... no, that’s not what I’m saying. I just don’t know what to do.”
“You still have some time to decide, but not much.”
“I know.” Isaiah let himself slide down the wall and sat on the carpet. “I won’t be any good, though, even if I come back.”
“I’ll help you. I know how things work.”
Isaiah laughed deprecatingly. “You really just need a male front while you make all the alpha’s decisions behind me. You need a breeder to give you grandchildren who’ll become alpha after me.”
Isaiah’s mother sighed. “You’re right, sweetheart. You won’t be a good alpha. You don’t have the instincts and the strong hand that are needed to do it. If your father was still alive, I wouldn’t even have thought about it, but...”
“But he’s not.”
“No, he’s not. And I need you to step up and take his place.”
And leave his entire life behind. Isaiah didn’t want to, but it was his mother asking him. He couldn’t say no.
Isaiah Page 4
